Ben Tynan And Ryugo Takeuchi Both Seek Redemption In Heavyweight Striker Vs Grappler War At ONE Fight Night 40
Ben “Vanilla Thunder” Tynan had entered his ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 16 in November 2023 with an undefeated amateur run that included a Canadian Junior National Title and NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships experience, immediately capturing attention by submitting South Korea’s Kang Ji Won via arm-triangle choke in the third round while earning a US$50,000 performance bonus.
The 31-year-old Canadian’s momentum continued with a first-round TKO demolition of Australia’s Duke Didier at ONE Fight Night 21 in April 2024, though the bout was later declared a no contest. His winning ways came to an abrupt halt at ONE Fight Night 34 last August when former ONE Interim Heavyweight MMA World Title challenger Kirill Grishenko handed him his first career setback, proving too much for the wrestling powerhouse on that evening.
On February 13 at ONE Fight Night 40 inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, broadcasting live on Prime Video, Tynan aims to reassert his dominance and prove he remains a legitimate threat in the heavyweight division.
Standing across from him will be Ryugo Takeuchi, one of Japan’s most dangerous strikers who also seeks redemption after recent setbacks. Like Tynan, the 22-year-old Japanese knockout artist entered ONE Championship with a flawless slate but faced a challenging start to life in the promotion.
After absorbing a tough TKO loss to Paul Elliott in April 2025, Takeuchi exploded back onto the scene at ONE Fight Night 34 four months later, demolishing Kang in devastating fashion by needing just 98 seconds to secure the knockout victory and announce his arrival as a serious divisional threat.
However, his momentum proved fleeting when Turkish knockout machine Shamil Erdogan handed him a defeat in front of his home crowd at ONE 173 in Tokyo last November. The setback in Japan tested his resolve and hunger for heavyweight supremacy, leaving him desperate to prove that the Elliott and Erdogan losses were simply learning experiences rather than signs of a ceiling.
February’s heavyweight showdown delivers a classic striker versus grappler matchup, as Takeuchi’s powerful stand-up arsenal faces its sternest test against Tynan’s elite wrestling pedigree. Both fighters carry the burden of recent defeats and the hunger to prove those losses don’t define their trajectories in ONE Championship’s heavyweight division.
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